About Me

By day, I perform strategic marketing duties for MorphoTrak (a subsidiary of Morpho, a subsidiary of Safran). By night, I manage the Empoprises blogging empire, as well as various virtual properties in Starfleet Commander and other games. Formerly known as Ontario Emperor (Ontario California, not Ontario Canada). LCMS Lutheran. Former member of Radio Shack Battery Club. Motorola Yellow Badge recipient. Top 10% of LinkedIn users.

Monday, November 4, 2013

I've been thinking about the phrase "freedom to fail" lately, so I thought that I'd read some varying views on the subject.

On the positive side, Zach Epstein (in the midst of a Google praisefest) said the following:

Google has proven time and time again that it’s not afraid to fail. While some of its big gambles have crashed and burned, others have grown to become core businesses for the Internet giant. It is impossible to innovate without taking risks, and the fact that Google is more successful than most of its rivals is directly related to its willingness to take chances.

After quoting from Vince Lombardi (who clearly had opinions on winning), Anthony continued:

You need to demand—and expect—success, but understand that success sometimes means deciding not to proceed with a project. If an innovator reaches that end point by smart and careful action, celebrate. If he or she reaches it any other way, well, fire away.

So can we celebrate the freedom to fail, or do we need to emphasize the freedom to fail to fail?

I've been thinking about the phrase "freedom to fail" lately, so I thought that I'd read some varying views on the subject.

On the positive side, Zach Epstein (in the midst of a Google praisefest) said the following:

Google has proven time and time again that it’s not afraid to fail. While some of its big gambles have crashed and burned, others have grown to become core businesses for the Internet giant. It is impossible to innovate without taking risks, and the fact that Google is more successful than most of its rivals is directly related to its willingness to take chances.

After quoting from Vince Lombardi (who clearly had opinions on winning), Anthony continued:

You need to demand—and expect—success, but understand that success sometimes means deciding not to proceed with a project. If an innovator reaches that end point by smart and careful action, celebrate. If he or she reaches it any other way, well, fire away.

So can we celebrate the freedom to fail, or do we need to emphasize the freedom to fail to fail?